Guess what Minna is doing 2:00 in the morning

Minna: It's still early, why do I have to go home? Only you're sleepy, I am not.

Hallway Kitty?

Minna is not running away, she just doesn't want to go home at night. She has so much fun sniffing every door and corner.

Minna's First Chinese New Year

Minna: These balls smell yummy, can I eat them?
Mittens: Chocolates and mandarin oranges are for Chinese New Year tomorrow, they symbolize prosperity and wealth in new year.

Minna: I wish you all a prosperous New Year then.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

Minna & I decide to lay back (as usual) on this holiday. We hope you all have a nice holiday too.

Kung Fu Minna

After watching Master Tigress in Kung Fu Panda, Minna thinks she can be Master Minna too.

Da Bird Fur Fun

Minna loves Da Bird feather toy so much she chews feathers into pieces. Since I cannot afford buying her new feathers every week, this fur attachment is perfect for chewers. She loves it so much and won't even let it go.

Rabies Vaccination

Suzy was telling me Indy (See Batman Indy) is due for his first rabies shot soon and it came to my attention that not every cat owner knows rabies vaccine can cause tumor in a small number of cats. I received a Vaccination Warning for Cat Owners from Especially Cats Veterinary Hospital in San Francisco during Minna's first check-up. According to this warning, approximately 1 in 10,000 cats can develop a cancerous tumor called a fibrosarcoma at the injection site of Feline Leukemia Virus (FeL V) and Rabies Virus vaccines. BTW, FVRCP or 3in1 vaccine will not cause cancerous tumor. Please discuss each cat's needs with its own vet but I think it is important to know about this uncommon complication. Again, always inform your vet of any pain, swelling, or lump found at the injection site of any vaccine.

Batman Indy

Indy is featured on Kitty Bellys today (http://kittybellys.com/2009/01/indianaindy.html), does he look like Batman with pink paws?

Canon PowerShot A590IS Camera

Received my new Canon PowerShot A590IS camera ($99.99) from Amazon.com (http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/31419/review/powershot_a590_is.html) yesterday and made couple test shots with Minna under low light. First picture from the left was taken with Kids & Pets Mode. The second one on the right used auto mode (ISO 200) with flash and third one also used auto mode but without flash. This camera also allows you to adjust the ISO speed manually, I will do more test shots with manual modes after I finished reading the user guide.

Pet Safe Heater

Once Minna discovered how cozy it is lying in front of the new heater, it is her favorite spot at night. When purchasing space heater, it has to be very quiet and safe for Minna, so I am willing to spend a little more for a micathermic flat panel radiator.
It takes half an hour to heat up the room without a fan but it's completely silent. I have considered oil-filled radiator but worried Minna's paws might get burned by accident. There is a metal screen in front of the micathermic radiator so I feel safe for Minna to curl up in front of it.

Midnight, Silver and Indy

Midnight, Silver and Indy (short for Indiana) are fur babies of my close friend, Suzy. Midnight, the black kitty, and Indy are featured in the first picture. The second picture is Indy as a kitten when he first joined the family back in October 08. The third picture is Silver and Indy, Silver is the big sister in the family, Indy has grown a lot since October but he still has a long way to go catching up with Silvie.

My two cents on grain-free diet

Minna has been eating Orijen Cat & Kitten formula (http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/products/cat.aspx) for a month and I wrote about this product back in December. Orijen is a high-protein (45%), low-carb & grain-free dry food. I personally think this is the best dry food I can find in the market because not only it is grain-free (Unlike human, feline doesn't need much carb in its diet), its ash level is only 7% according to its web page. Not to mention it is steam-cooked at low temperature, it is also made with fresh ingredients (never frozen) without chemical preservatives.
My two cents: Orijen is high-protein, which means higher calories than conventional cat food so Minna only eats half a cup per day instead of 3/4 cup. As expected, she was asking for food all day during the first week and I compensated her with more organic kitty grass. She gained a pound during the second week but her weight went back to normal by the end of fourth week because high protein diet replaced extra fat in her body with muscle mass. The picture was taken two weeks ago when she was 10.5 lb, didn't her behind looked like a snow ball? She is 9.5 lb now.

Alex, Sam and Mia

The reason I named this blog 'Minna & beyond' is to post pictures and stories of my friends' cats and new year is the perfect time to start. Cheri, my very close friend, has three himalayans and they are Alex, Sam and Mia. Alex & Sam are brothers, that's why they sleep together in the first picture (I think adult male felines don't sleep together unless they are littermates). The other picture is Mia and we call her princess. Sadly, we don't have pictures with all three cats together because both Alex and Mia want to be the alpha so they don't get along too well, but Sam likes everyone so he is the mediator in the family.